KU threatens to fire new Douglas County DA, she claims retaliation and discrimination
Four days before she was set to be sworn in as the new Douglas County District Attorney, the University of Kansas placed Suzanne Valdez on administrative leave Thursday with the possibility of dismissal for her conduct in a pay dispute with the law school.
Valdez, who has taught at the university since 1999, has been outspokenly critical of KU for its handling of sexual assault complaints, especially as it relates to a former student criminally charged and investigated for falsely reporting rape. Those charges were later dropped.
Valdez, who is Latina, calls KU’s actions “pure and simple retaliation” and discrimination.
According to an email provided to The Star, KU Vice President for Faculty Development, Chris Brown, informed Valdez just before 3 p.m. Thursday that she would be placed on administrative leave at 5 p.m. with her credentials for the KU online systems disabled.
Brown wrote that Valdez had withheld final grades in a class because she and the law school’s dean, Stephen Mazza, had not reached an agreement on her payment for the course.
“Given this behavior, I cannot be assured that you will assign grades objectively, since your behavior evidences an inability to keep disputes with your employer separate from how it is you treat students,” Brown wrote.
“At the very least, your actions toward students show a disregard for treating students with professional courtesy, and they violate commonly accepted standards of professional ethics, both violations of our faculty code.”
The email went on to say that Valdez, who is scheduled to be sworn in as District Attorney on Monday, would be investigated and may be fired based on the findings.
By Thursday, Valdez said, she had withheld grades for 24 hours but already determined what each student’s final grade would be. She said she had done this because the course exceeded her contractual requirements and Mazza had told her she was not owed the $7,500 in overload pay because she had taken a new job as District Attorney and would not be finishing the academic year.
Earlier in the semester, Valdez said she had made plans to take unpaid leave for the spring 2021 semester before returning to KU to teach a smaller class load.
In a statement to The Star, University of Kansas spokesman Joe Monaco said the University could not comment on the specifics of a personnel matter.
“That said, it is unfortunate that Professor Valdez has chosen to publicly misrepresent the circumstances of this matter. It is even more unfortunate that she chose to involve her students in her own personal dispute with her employer,” Monaco said. “The University will always act in the best interest of our students. We look forward to resolving this manner with Professor Valdez in a professional manner.”
Valdez said the withholding of grades was not intended to harm students, many of whom she said were aware of her ongoing disputes with administration.
In a Jan. 6 email provided to The Star through an open records request, Valdez notified students of her decision to hold back grades and apologized that they would face “collateral consequences” to her pay dispute. She also referenced prior disagreements with Mazza.
It is not uncommon, Valdez said, for professors to submit grades late. But she said she has never known the practice to lead to ethics complaints.
“If you read the letter it’s like I’ve been unprofessional,” Valdez said. “Because what? Because I stood up for myself?”
Upon receiving the letter from the administration, Valdez said she posted her students grades to ensure they would be submitted before she lost access to them. Additionally, she said, she sent an email to her students apologizing.
Locked out of the KU system, Valdez was unaware Friday morning whether she would be able to access 20 years worth of research, memos and contacts stored in KU’s servers.
“It’s a really, really sad ending, if that’s what it is, to be treated like a thief,” she said. “This what they’ve done to me after so many years of service.”
According to records provided to The Star, Valdez reached a settlement with the university over allegations of pay discrimination in May 2019. The settlement includes a non-disparagement clause barring Valdez from speaking or publishing negative comments about Mazza and the university.
Valdez said that, as she understands it, her comments this week are not a violation of the clause as they do not directly relate to the matter that caused the settlement.
Complaints against KU
Valdez, who ousted longtime Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson in August, has been vocal about her concerns with university and law school practices.
She is referenced, although not by name, in a lawsuit filed against the city of Lawrence and the university by a former law student who was charged with making a false report of rape.
In November, Valdez said the treatment of the student by university Title IX officials mirrored the skepticism she received from police.
“The thing about (the Office of Institutional Opportunity and Access) in my experience is that they lack the training, they lack the sensitivity to handle any of these issues that they’re charged to address in a way that is compassionate, in a way that is fair and it’s just been the practice at KU,” she said at the time.
The professor’s outrage at the treatment of her student led to her run against Charles Branson, the outgoing district attorney who chose to file charges.
Valdez said she has been similarly vocal about a myriad of issues within the law school, including pay disparities and a “toxic” culture that fostered heavy drinking and sexual assault. Since she stepped down as President of the University Senate last year, Valdez said no one has been willing to listen to her.
“You have to start barking up the chain to get attention. And here’s the thing no one will hear you unless you start acting like a crazy lunatic,” she said. “Have I said things that are pretty harsh? Yeah.”
This story was originally published January 8, 2021 at 1:25 PM.
